DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-11, 19, 21-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 2021/0238335).
Wu shows a method of forming a dental appliance comprising: (A) receiving a design file representing the dental appliance (file to allow 3D printing of both portions to make the whole); (B) printing, using a stereolithography ([103] discusses the various 3D printing methodologies including stereolithography), the dental appliance being fully cured (inner microarchitecture of photocured resin) and including at least one initial physical property value ([128] discusses differing mechanical strengths between the two materials to be used); (C) applying, using a first additive manufacturing system ([18] discusses placing a coating resin on the inner microarchitecture via 3D printing), a first layer of a first material to at least one first surface of the dental appliance to form a modified dental appliance (coating applied to at least a portion of a surface of the inner microarchitecture to form the modified dental appliance); wherein the at least one initial physical property value of the dental appliance is changed to a corresponding at least one modified physical property value of the modified dental appliance by the application of the first layer of first material in (C) (adding of material with a different physical property modifies that physical property of the device as a whole; [128]). With respect to claim 2, wherein the dental appliance includes at least one of a retainer, and an aligner (various fabricated aligners shown in figures; [123]). With respect to claim 3, wherein the at least one initial physical property includes at least one of tensile strength, elasticity, elongation, impact resistance, rigidity, mechanical strength, hardness, wear resistance (as stated above, mechanical strength is present initially and modified; [128]). With respect to claim 4, wherein the first material includes at least one of thermoplastic, acrylic, and epoxy ([18], [217] shows additional possible materials). With respect to claim 5, wherein the first additive manufacturing system includes at least one of a material dipping system, material spraying system, material coating system, material wrapping system, material heat shrinking system, material depositing system, and material painting system ([18] discusses placing a coating resin on the inner microarchitecture via 3D printing/material depositing system). With respect to claim 6, further comprising: (C)(1) curing the first layer of first material on the at least one first surface ([18] curing the coating resin). With respect to claim 7, further comprising: (C)(1) activating the adhesion between the first layer of first material and the at least one first surface (printing the coating on the microarchitecture activates adhesion between the two). With respect to claim 8, wherein the activating the adhesion between the first layer of first material and the at least one first surface is provided by at least one of exposure to ultraviolet light, an addition of a curing and/or activation agent, exposure to heat, and the passing of time (may utilize photocuring, which would be exposure to ultraviolet light, also a curing agent within the material, and over time). With respect to claim 9, further comprising: (A)(1) modifying the design file by modifying at least one parameter of the represented dental appliance within the design file (the file must be modified in order to both create the microarchitecture and coating for printing). With respect to claim 10, wherein the modifying the design file by modifying at least one parameter includes modifying at least one surface of the represented dental appliance within the design file (addition of coating to be printed). With respect to claim 11, wherein the modifying the design file by modifying at least one parameter includes modifying at least one thickness of the represented dental appliance within the design file (addition of coating adds thickness). With respect to claim 19, wherein the dental appliance includes a shell with a shell outer surface and a cavity with a cavity inner surface, and the first layer of the first material is applied to the shell outer surface and/or the cavity inner surface (may be applied to all surfaces of the microarchitecture making up the aligner/shell). With respect to claim 21, prior to printing the dental appliance in (b), modifying the design file to account for at least one physical property of the first layer to be applied in (c), such that, after application of the first layer in (c), at least one of a dimension and a geometry of the modified dental appliance conforms to a corresponding target value represented by the design file (as discussed above, the file will be modified to incorporate both the microarchitecture and coating, wherein the final dimension with both prints is that intended). With respect to claim 22, wherein the first layer is a continuous layer that conformally covers the at least one first surface ([18] discusses the coating resin covering at least a portion of a surface and therefore up to all of it), and wherein the first additive manufacturing system is separate from the stereolithography three-dimensional (3D) printer and comprises at least one of a material dipping system, a material spraying system, a material coating system, and a material painting system ([18] as discussed above may be used with various materials and associated printing systems, particularly a material coating system in the case here).
Method claims 23-26 are rejected similarly to the above, particularly with respect to a combination of claims 1, 21, and 22. With respect to claim 26, wherein the first material is selected to modify at least one of color and transparency of the dental appliance ([0123] and also adding additional transparent material to another transparent material will change the transparency as a whole as the added material takes away additional little light from passing through).
Method claim 27 is rejected similarly to the above, as it is essentially a broader version of claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Sirovskiy et al. (US 2018/0263730).
Wu discloses the device as previously described above, but fails to show further comprising: (C)(1) obstructing, using a blocking member, at least a portion of dental appliance from the application of the first layer of first material.
Sirovskiy similarly teaches additive manufacturing methods of dental devices where a mask stereolithography machine ([0056]; mask stereolithography machines utilize a blocking/masking member/filter for printing) may be used as an alternative to stereolithography (which is used by Wu). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wu’s method by substituting the method of printing to include blocking/masking as taught by Sirovskiy as these are well known alternatives in the dental printing art ([0056]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the newly amended claim language have been addressed with the Wu reference above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5898. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm EDT.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen, at (571) 270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW M NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
